If you’re a Rush fan or have read Daylight and have been anxiously waiting for book 2 in the No Death for the Wicked series, well… please bear with me.

As some might already know, I have recently lost my best friend, my husband. He passed away August 13th and I have been completely and utterly lost without him. I know some may say it’s too soon or take it slow, which I am. But, the one thing that has always kept me grounded is writing, my husband used to always say he loved it when I wrote simply, because it fueled me with life. Writing helps me on so many different levels and I know it’s the one thing he would want me to continue even with him gone.

With that being said, here’s the first chapter to Midnight. I’m working on it here and there, whenever I get the chance, mostly nights since sleep evades me. Also, I would like to mention before I cozy up to write, (book one) – Daylightshould be out in audio very soon. I will post links as soon as I can and I hope you enjoy the beginning taste of Mattie and Graham’s next story.

Chapter One

“A stake through the heart…” I flip another page and grumble, “Exposure to the sun.” Another page. “Decapitation.” And another. “Starvation.” I roam my eyes over to Graham, annoyed.

“Where’s the good stuff in this fossilized book?”

He directs a shimmer of a glance my way, but still keeps his blue eyes on the ill-lit road. The city of Solace is a distant memory, but one I will not soon forget. Graham found a set of wheels for us, more like a war machine. A Gothic black 1965 Buick Rivera, to travel the wastelands, the barren lifeless roads. Each mile means I’m that much farther away from the Elites. The elites are hunting us, and every pit stop we make, someone’s watching us. So, whether it’s a cashier at a gas station or a hitchhiker wandering the dusty roads, Graham makes sure they have no breath to reiterate what or who they just saw.

“There’s more in the book, Mattie,” Graham reveals, and magically flicks the pages backward with a simple gesture from his finger. His unworldly succulent eyes study me. “Bleed,” he says in a deep and throaty tone.

The only way I can read the book in my lap, the Voynich’s book, is for a drop of vampire blood to touch the page. I press my nail into my hand and squeeze the ruby-red blood from my palm. The crimson fluid turns into ink and the encrypted symbols begin to form into words. Readable, fluent sentences appear, and I start to decipher what I’m seeing.

“Vampires have existed since the dawn of man, and since that time, the two races have been at war. Both fighting for their own instinctual survival. Mankind had daylight on their side, to them vampires were nothing more than a menace.

The vampires ruled the night, but were also reliant on the humans… for their blood. After centuries of bloody war the humans believed they had finally won, and fell into a state of complacency, but the vampires, concealed by shadows of night, discovered another race being hunted and persecuted by the humans… witches.

These two formed an alliance and began slowly developing a strategy to infiltrate and take over humanity, without mankind ever knowing. First, a serum was created, giving them the one thing the humans had advantage of, the sun. Now the nightwalkers walk the day, and soon all aspects of society will be within our grasp. In five hundred years, we shall rule the world.”

As soon as my last word expels from my lips the sentences fade, no words, no ancient scribbly handwriting, not even a hint that my blood had even spilt there.

“So all this time humans think that vampires are mere stories of myth and forgotten legends, but in fact they’re the ruling class of humanity. How ironic— wait a minute… how many cities are there like Solace?”

Graham hits the lights, deadening the path in front of us even more, and steers the car off the road. The town, Shadow Hills, caps the dry scenery in the distance. Graham slips out and scouts the area. He walks, no that’s not accurate, he glides toward the front of the car. His long trench coat whispers along the ground as he waits a breath before he answers me.

“There are more cities like Solace than you would like to know about, Mattie.”

“So, we’re fucked?” I quip getting out, my eyes roam around the dreary landscape. I set my hope for blood on a metaphorical shelf for now and stride toward the back of the car. I slam my fist hard against the dusty metal and watch as vials of daylight shine like the Holy Grail from the trunk. I slide one translucent bottle from its precious cushioned protection and inspect it. The entire trunk is filled with cases of daylight, and if I’m careful, it will last me a couple of years. But, if I am not, I may just end up being a flesh-skinning nightwalker and that’s not a go-to option for me.

Graham motions over at the horizon just as the sun breaks through the early morning light. I quickly slip the vial back in its snug, tight concealment and make sure the cases are securely closed before I slam the trunk shut. I might be able to go a few days without needing another dose, but a thousand or so vials of daylight won’t last me forever. In the book it mentions witches, an alliance between us and them. And how they conjured the serum, now, all I need is a witch.

“How do you know? You have a thing for witches too?” I sass meeting his pace, his body meets mine. We’re close to touching but not. I swallow hard watching as he licks his full sinful lips. He’s been careful not to touch me since we hightailed it out of Solace, all of his energy and concentration has solely been on keeping us safe. But now, I can see his sexual frustration building, he wants to touch me, he needs to touch me.

Finally, his right hand ensnares around my waist, pressing our hips closer. His blue eyes scour over my face as if he’s deciding on how he wants to take me. “Witches? No… They couldn’t survive my ways, they’re not nearly wicked enough.”

The trilogy started out as a series of dreams and Demon Bound is simply the conclusion of the aberrant dreams.

What genre does your book fall under?

Paranormal/Romance/Thriller

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Alyssa – Jessica Lowndes

Marc – Justin Hartley

Megan – Megan Fox

Zaylen – Johnathan Rhys Meyers

Evan – Taylor Kitsch

David – Chris Evans

Dawson – Matthew Bomer

Lisa – Hillary Duff

Kelly – Alexandra krosney

Cecil – Ali Larter

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Bound to a Demon, choices and sacrifices will be made, out of the ashes who will be the one to remain standing?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Self-published

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The entire trilogy took one year to write.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I don’t feel comfortable saying, “If you like this book, then you will like mine.” So, I won’t do that. I will leave that type of comparison up to my readers and fans.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

A multitude of dreams, epic music, and my love for romantic dark fantasy are the motivating forces behind this book.What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Well, if anyone is intrigued with a modern day fantasy witch world, that has the company of an ancient demon, then the third installment of the Crescent Bound Trilogy, Demon Bound, will be a mystifying conclusion that should not be missed!

Hello to my growing fan base, how are you today. I love all of you and keep your comments coming. I will answer any and all questions you have. Now before we get started today with this very special interview I just want to take a moment and thank everyone for their continued support on Amazon. You guys rock, we are even starting a following overseas, so here is a shout out to Belgium and the Czech Republic, thanks for stopping by.

Now today we will meet the very mysterious Evan from Raven Bound. Evan has walked a path with some of the darkest witches in the world. He lived their lifestyle and became one of them. I do not intend to roll out any spoilers from the book so our focus today is the Brotherhood of the Raven and how Evan slipped into their grasp.

Everyone please welcome Evan!

E – Hey.

L – So Evan when did you first hear about the Brotherhood and what was your first impression.

E- Lucky, you have to know something first, what I am about to say has been hidden from the witch world for a very long time. There is a risk to me and you for speaking today, are you okay with that?

L- Risk? What kind of risk?

E- The Brotherhood has maintained its power because of secrecy and it will defend it with death as its weapon. These guys play hard and will remove anyone in their way. I know.

L- Well I can handle it, I think. I’m pretty tight with the Worthington’s, think that will do?

E- Let’s hope so.

L- Evan, what is it that makes the Brotherhood so dangerous?

E- Our code as a witch is to harm none, the brotherhood has a code too. Nothing comes before the Brotherhood, nothing. Not your coven, friends, or even family. You are Brotherhood first. These guys are predators, always hunting for more power.

L- Why doesn’t the high council of witches do something about it?

E- Do what to who? The ones running the Brotherhood are thought to be upstanding members of their respective covens, they are the good guys on the surface. No one knows who they are.

L- You do.

E- I know very few and I would die a painful, torturous death if I went against them alone.

L- I just can’t believe that this is really true, some deep dark coven operating unnoticed for centuries, building power and infecting our covens this way. It is too unbelievable.

E- When I was younger, my older brother fell in with this group. It was never known how dangerous they were. Just cool witches that did secret things. We all knew there was something not exactly right with what they were doing but no one pried because they weren’t hurting anyone, at least that was what we were lead to believe.

It was about six years ago now, Samhain was just days away and I had been trying for months to get my brother to let me hang out with him and this cool group he was with. I was set up to meet them at a club. I went to the club and met with a couple of the guys I knew he hung out with. I never did see my brother again but the Brotherhood took me in. I was told later that he died in service of the Brotherhood. I vowed then to find out the truth about them and my brothers death.

L- Wow, man condolences on your brother, I didn’t know about that.

E- Not many people do.

L- Do you know how this all got started?

E- As it is in the Brotherhood, secrets are so important that the best information I have on its origin is pieces of rumor and hearsay. I will tell you my theory though. There was an Ice Elemental witch who’s name is not known. He was a lone witch that use to roam the forest of Europe. He was seen as being mad but would on occasion appear with predictions of the future for the humans. These predictions would be written on pieces of bark. He would deliver these future sights to a random human and then vanish back into the forest.

Then one day he walked out of the forest a very different witch. He became well respected in the witch world and was one of the founding true blood witches within the Dela Dante coven. The rumor is that he tapped into an ancient forbidden power that allowed him to tame his madness and became the well known witch that he is today. His use of this power grew and he began including others secretly into his fold.

L- Whatever happened to him?

E- He was destroyed by the last remaining true blood witches in the Dela Dante coven, but it also cost them their lives in the process. Very tragic.

L- You know that this talk has the hair on the back of my neck standing up, I am not sure we should go any deeper into this.

E- Yeah, I understand, you don’t want to be a hunted man like me.

L- The Brotherhood is hunting you? Why am I the last one to know key information around here. Hey, Honey, we need to talk about this after the broadcast *tapping on the glass of the booth* Don’t give me that look, oh my goddess, is this still about Megan. Honey, we will talk after the show. Girl, you are killing me, I swear!

Sorry about that, a little technical difficulty here. Evan, what can we do to help?

E- The Brotherhood does not play games, they take their lifestyle seriously and people get hurt around them, that is the norm. Stay away from them at all cost. Just being around them is putting your life at risk. I warned you about this before we started. They will know I have done this interview. I suggest you call those Worthington’s you know and tell them about this quickly.

L- Evan, thanks man for showing up here, best of luck to your survival and all. Keep in touch, but call okay?

E- Thanks Lucky, stay safe. *Shifts out of the booth*

Everyone thanks for tuning in and if you want to know more about the Brotherhood of the Raven and how Evan fits into this twisted witches tale, head over to Amazon and pick up your e-copy today. And just to let everyone know, within the next few months, the published e-books by Karli Rush will be available in print through Amazon. So keep an eye on Amazon for new releases and printed copies of her work.

Stay tuned here for continued character coverage and here is wishing you a good read. I’m out. Hey Honey don’t look at me like that, let me explain about….

My name is Lucky and I am back to interview yet another Witch from the World created by Author Karli Rush. I have been away for a while, let’s just say that Megan and I had a very long discussion that lasted about…a month or so? Best damn conversation I have ever had. Megan you will not be forgotten. Unless…what was I talking about? Kidding, that’s a book joke, read the book, get the joke, sorry, back to business.

Hey, we have a special guest here today, David Van Buren, fire elemental extraordinaire and ex-boyfriend to Alyssa Worthington. David how are you today?

Lucky, here I am, now what are your other two wishes.

Feeling good about yourself are you? Got a little Genie in a bottle thing happening?

I’m feeling good and just saying I think I warrant a little more than being Alyssa’s ex!

Tell me about that then, why does that bother you so? How does it make you feel?

What the hell are you, Lucky, my shrink? Look I thought I was here today to talk about me and what I have going on.

Like hooking up with a red headed pysco that tries to scorch your ex-girfriend?

See that’s what I’m talking about, everything is tied to Alyssa and what happens to her.

David, you had a chance to get her back, hell, you could have not ditched her when you went off to the Arcane. From my view, you made your bed, as horrid as it is.

Okay now, let me tell you something. (Flaming hands) and I want you to listen without interruption.

(Nodding quickly to David and flaming hands go out, David rubs his forehead)

When I was fifteen I met Alyssa and something happened with that first meeting. I was at a coven gathering and had heard about the true blood heiress to the Worthington coven but had never seen her. She walked up to me with her hand out and said “Welcome to the Worthington coven, my name is Alyssa.” Her smile disarmed me and I was hooked. We dated for about two years once I found the courage, which comes out wrong sometimes.

I always had, and still have this feeling of knowing her before I knew her. The smile, her rolling of the eyes, the way she walks are all familiar to me in a way that doesn’t make sense. It is as if I have known her before. Maybe we have been around each other in a past life, I don’t know.

It was that feeling that kept pushing me on to make it work. Yeah, I did a stupid thing when I left for the Arcane, but by then we spent more time getting on each others nerves and negativity of any kind is bad for a witch, so , thinking I’m doing a noble thing, off I go with a breakup phone call later. I couldn’t face Alyssa, I can’t say no to her face.

Then Marc came along, and man, did I hate that guy, but he is growing on me and I see something there that was never part of Alyssa and I.

Well now, David, that was a mouthful and I see better now how things are but tell me, Megan says that she, at one time, would have…how did she put it…”Given him things that even the Arcane couldn’t undo.” Why not Megan?

(David rolls his eyes in a pretty good impersonation of Alyssa) Megan, that girl has more life in her than most metropolitan areas. She is one of the close and loyal friends to Alyssa. Even though witches are very open sexually, compared to humans there can still be certain situations where they can be difficult. Alyssa, Megan, and Lisa have never shared guys, they have always maintained a separation to their love lives and I would have broken that unspoken rule. Megan would be very fun, but also temporary, she gets bored way to easy and it will take a special witch to tame this vixen.

Alright David, so why hang out with your ex-girl at all, why have you not moved on?

Dawson, he is my best friend, we have known each other forever and he talked to me one day. He said that we are necessary for Alyssa and being her good friend and supporter is more valuable than trying to reclaim our relationship. He says Alyssa will need us all one day and so here I am, being an unforgettably annoying friend.

How much trouble has your mouth gotten you into, David, you’re not known for being complacent.

(Laughing) Yeah, I can piss them all off and I really don’t care. I speak my mind, say what I think, like your hair is horrid, who cut it, a monkey that drank too many espressos?

(Checking my hair in the glass of the booth) My hair is awesome! Thanks. David, we are going to wrap it up here, any final thoughts?

Back up Lucky, your standing on my aura.

(Door shuts loudly)

Thanks for joining me again for another eye opening interview from the world of Crescent Bound…now where did I put Megan’s number?

Megan, yeah it’s Lucky, Lucky, you know they guy that interviewed you…L U C K Y… come on that’s not funny…no I’m not still tied up, hey what are you ….

Raven Bound brings you deeper into the witch world of Alyssa and Marc. A world hidden even from the Worthington Coven rears its dark magick and Alyssa is caught in a vortex of lies, deceit and deep secrets of black magick.

Her mind-twisting journey will be one that may bring her own secrets to bear. Who can you trust? What is the breaking point? How far will you go to protect the ones you love? Come join the witch world of Crescent Bound and find out.

“What genre is Crescent Bound?” is a question I am repeatedly asked. I thought I would muddy the waters even more by trying to answer it here, on my blog.

So here goes, okay, it starts out as a standard Young Adult, high school, boy meets girl love story, cool, but it is paranormal because the main character is a modern-day Witch living in a hidden witch world, and yet romance infects her and so now it is also a Paranormal Romance, until things start getting creepy and dangerous. Add in a touch of darkness with a splash of fantasy along with some blood and now what? Horror? Suspense? Dark Paranormal? On top of that there are some really fun sex scenes, not erotica descriptive, but it skirts the edge of that genre. So now what, you see, when I wrote Crescent Bound, I simply wrote about the Protagonist and how her life evolves.

Let’s just say Crescent Bound unfolds from Young Adult into standard Paranormal Romance, and then leans into Dark Fantasy, and still it slides by the edge of Erotica but not quite then sprinkle in some blood type horror and what do you have now?

What you have is Crescent Bound, the first in a series of five from me, Karli Rush. What I hope everyone discovers is that being locked into one genre is not necessary and I find drifting from one into the other quite necessary to truly tell Alyssa’s story.